An Air Asia plane touches down safely in Mactan with 166 passengers from Manila after calling for assistance due to landing gear malfunction. (CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)
Fire trucks and ambulances rushed to the runway yesterday when a Cebu-bound plane of Air Asia Philippines landed before 8 a.m. in Mactan International Airport.
The plane encountered a hydraulic problem while preparing to land. All 166 passengers from Manila on board Flight Z2 763 , which had the name and image of Manny Pacquiao on the plane’s body, arrived safely.
One of the plane’s landing gear had malfunctioned, prompting the pilot to contact the control tower for assistance, said Bert Segovia, Flight Operations Supervisor of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) at MCIA.
While the aircraft was in the air, the ground crew sent fire trucks and ambulances along the runway as a standard emergency measure.
Roel Aranzado, facility-in-charge of the Mactan control tower said the plane had a slight hydraulic problem in its nose gear, making it difficult for the plane to taxi at the airport’s runway. He said the plane had to be towed immediately to a remote parking area to avoid disrupting airport operations. Its return flight for Manila was cancelled.
Air Asia Philippines, in a statement through Mafe Barcelo of PR Works, said the aircraft had a technical issue on its way to the ramp and had to be towed. The safety and engineering team is checking the plane.